Return to Oz (DISCONTINUED)

There's No Place Like Home

Scarecrow and Lion gasped. I just gaped at Tinman in near disbelief. But Tinman has never lied to me before and I don't know why he'd have wanted to start then.

"The Wizard... And the witch of the south... Well, why would she be wicked for that?"

"He left, remember? He went back to Kansas before you got there."

I thought about this for a minute. The Wizard left when he was going to take me back to Kansas. I gasped aloud. It's my fault the Wizard's gone! That's why she's so angry with me!

"What is it, Dorothy?" Scarecrow asked, cocking his head.

"It's my fault... It's all my fault that she's wicked..." I said, my voice cracking with a small sob.

Scarecrow hugged me close to him again. "Oh, Dorothy. Don't blame yourself. It was the Wizard's choice to leave. He could've stayed with Lucca or brought her along with you two. He chose to leave her behind in Oz and that's got nothing to do with you."

"But it does, Scarecrow, because if I hadn't asked him to help me in the first place, he wouldn't have been obliged to leave. Now, Oz is in danger... Because of me... They thought I was their national heroine but... I'm just wrecking it more..."

I put myself into a full on cry and buried my face into his chest. It was like a pillow and I could hear his mechanical heart ticking. It sounded like a clock and the sound soothed me in my moment of weakness. On the bright side, it was nice to be like this with him. Finally, after months of being apart, I could see his face again. I could talk to him again and that made me feel a little better. But knowing that he and all my friends were in danger because of me was tearing me to pieces.

"Come on now, Dorothy..." Scarecrow whispered, soothingly. "It's alright. We'll fix it, I promise."

I lifted my head off his chest, sniffled, and nodded.

"Now, have you seen the Wizard anywhere in Kansas?" he asked, trying to distract me from my sadness by getting back to business.

I thought about it and it didn't take me much thinking to remember Professor Marvel, who I was sure was the Wizard in disguise, and I said, "I do! His name is Professor Marvel and I'm almost sure he's the Wizard. His story exactly matches up with it!"

"Oh, my- Dorothy, do you know what this means?" Scarecrow asked, already knowing the answer but he was excited none-the-less.

I didn't answer. I had no idea what in the world he meant. I didn't see how we would possibly get The Wizard back.

"We've got to go to Kansas and bring him back."

"Scarecrow, we can't!" I pled. "We mustn't! It's dangerous going from world to world. You three could be really hurt and I couldn't forgive myself for that."

"Dorothy, I don't care what happens to me. Oz needs me. We have to bring the Wizard back or Lucca will kill you. I can't even bare the thought of you dying. It was hard enough having you leave Oz but I knew that you might decide to come back one day. If she..."

Scarecrow looked down at the floor, unable to finish that sentence. I understood how he felt. I also realized how Hunk must feel right now. I feel ever so badly for worrying them like this but Oz needs me too. I saw, then, that we had no choice but to get ourselves to Kansas somehow.

"You don't happen to know where the ruby slippers are, do you?" I asked them. They all shook their heads.

"Dorothy," Scarecrow said with a certain solemness in his voice. I didn't like hearing my voice said that way, especially coming from him. "We're gonna have to do this the hard way."

I nodded.

- - -

We stood on a balcony in the tallest building in the Emerald City. The steady breeze blew the stray hairs out of my face as I looked over the town with my arms linked with Scarecrow's and Tinman's. I was terrified beyond belief and I could tell that Tinman and Scarecrow were too. Not Lion, though. Not since he got his courage. He was raring to go but he held off out of courtesy for his friends.

"Okay..." I said, taking in a deep breath of courage myself. "Are you ready?"

The clashing of tin on tin increased as Tinman and Scarecrow nodded at the same time. I unlinked my arms from theirs and opted for holding their hands instead. We climbed on to the barrier together. Unfortunately, a crowd had accumulated at the bottom. I felt myself shed a tear for what they were about to see. I look at Tinman and Lion to my left then to Scarecrow on my right.

"One," I counted out, seeing the panicked whispers of the Ozians.

"Two," counted Scarecrow, planting a kiss on my cheek which made both of them burn like crazy.

"Three!" the four of us shouted all at once right before jumping off.

I could hear the ozians screaming just as much as we were. I prayed a silent prayer that we make to Kansas. But then it wasn't silent anymore.

"There's no place like home. There's no place like home." I chanted, squeezing Tinman's and Scarecrow's hands a little tighter.

As we neared the ground, I squeezed my eyes tight and yelled it louder and louder until I saw a flash of light through my eyelids and then nothing but absolute darkness.